


a gentleman never talks about his tailor

by taemintylips



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Tailoring, This Is STUPID, im weird, lee minhyuk will patch u up, married!kiho, why isnt tailor!mh a thing, yoo kihyun will steal ur clothes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 00:36:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11932671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taemintylips/pseuds/taemintylips
Summary: Like how flimsy napkins hold delicate hand-written universes on wrinkled surfaces, Hyungwon thinks that Lee Minhyuk might be his muse tucked away in a forgotten alley with his hidden threads shimmering in faint lights.





	a gentleman never talks about his tailor

**Author's Note:**

> [i blame this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrJwZ0v5S3Q)

Hyungwon groans from where he’s perched on the couch and launches his phone onto plush cushions. It earns him a careless glance by his editor that’s busy scrolling through unread messages.

“What do you want this time, coffee or sleep.” Kihyun deadpans, flicking through his inbox.

“I don’t want to do all these interviews, Ki. Can’t you cancel some of them or something?” Hyungwon whines.

“Nope,” Kihyun replies cheerfully. “I’ve been stuck with you and your writer’s block for too many years, it’s about time you get out there and start selling the shit out of your new book. I have a husband and two kids to feed, Chae.”

Hyungwon scoffs. “I never knew you and Hoseok were capable of producing offspring.”

Kihyun ignores him and continues to hum merrily.

 

 

 

 

 

He has about a month or so before all hell will break loose. Chae Hyungwon is an author, but one that absolutely loathes public attention. He hates doing photoshoots, hates going on shows, and hates interviews with all his 181-centimeter being.

He doesn’t really acknowledge the fact that he is attractive (more so than others), so he doesn’t enjoy the fact that people recognize him for his looks instead of his profession. Like how almost every reporter or interviewer has pointed out, his popularity among female readers is going out the roof.

Sure, he enjoys the attention, just not how he gets his readers. He’d appreciate it more if they didn’t only dwell on what they saw on the surface, thank you very much.

What happened to not judging a book by its cover, Hyungwon wonders bitterly.

 

He was adamant not to attend any public events this time, but Kihyun, like the best manager and worst best friend he was, arranged for him to make more appearances than ever.

(“Cheer the fuck up, Chae” was all he got in response.)

What’s worse, Kihyun made it his personal mission to raid Hyungwon’s closet, discarding all shabby suits and outfits, ridding him of anything horrible to wear to important events.

Not to mention he also scheduled Hyungwon an appointment with a tailor.

Hyungwon was devastated.

 

“Some best friend you are,” he shoots at Kihyun, who just chucks a pillow at him and continues texting.

“Don’t worry your pretty head off, he’s one of the best.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Hyungwon mutters into the pillow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so a few days later, he finds himself in an unfamiliar alley outside the door of a dingy tailor shop.

“Are you sure about the address you gave me?” He questions Kihyun over the phone. He hears Kihyun sigh.

“ _Yes, Squirtle. Remember to play nice._ ”

“I hate you.”

“ _Love you too._ ” Kihyun hangs up.

 

Hyungwon curses under his breath and pushes the door open tentatively. He hears a pleasant tinkle from the wind chimes above him as the hinges of the door creak open.

The shop seems to be ancient, with a polished wooden counter with bits of cloth littered across the surface. Mannequins are strewn over the place, some missing a few body parts and some grotesquely bent. Hyungwon shivers involuntarily as he pokes around the shop.

“Can I help you?” A husky voice cuts through the dusty air, and Hyungwon almost screams in fright. He whips around and gapes at the owner of said voice.

Whatever he imagined, it was definitely not this. He expected maybe an elder shuffling with an odd gait, not-

A young man stands behind the counter, decked in the silkiest shirt Hyungwon has ever seen, red hair flaring against pale skin and glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. His piercing eyes are ringed with black circles, and silver studs glitter from his earlobes.

Hyungwon tries not to stare.

“Uh, I had an appointment?” It comes out more like a question. The man quirks his lips at that and adjusts his glasses with slender fingers.

“Two-thirty, Mr. Chae?”

Hyungwon nods dumbly.

“This way, please.”

The man pushes open a heavy door behind the counter and beckons for Hyungwon to follow. He does so albeit a little nervously. It’s not a first for him to meet a tailor, but it’s definitely the first time he’s met one _so fucking gorgeous_.

They set foot inside a room doused in bright fluorescent lights. Hyungwon blinks, eyes trying to adjust. He sees stacks of sketchbooks with odd scraps of paper sticking out, a large table with pieces of blunt chalk and a sewing machine, and yards of cloth arrayed according to various hues on tall shelves.

He then risks a glance at the red-haired man. The man walks in brisk strides to the table and rummages around in a cabinet filled with spools of thread and ribbons, finally yanking out a battered measuring tape. He then turns and smiles at Hyungwon.

“Coat off, Mr. Chae.”

Hyungwon fumbles with the fastenings on his navy jacket, fingers somehow refusing to cooperate. He curses under his breath, and he hears the man chuckle. Next thing he knows, deft hands are helping him shrug off the heavy clothing. He feels his face heat up with color.

“Okay, now turn around for me.” Hyungwon spins awkwardly, back now facing the other man. He starts when he feels his arms being held up.

“Arms out.” He swears that he feels soft breathing on his neck and his heart is trying to escape from his ribcage.

_Oh my god, Chae Hyungwon, calm your shit down._ He tries to breathe slowly through his nose.

The tailor hums while holding the measuring tape up to Hyungwon’s arms and circles around to measure his torso. His glasses are slowly inching off the bridge of his nose, and Hyungwon can’t take his eyes off the way the man’s lashes fan across his face. He sucks in a breath and holds it.

_Fuck breathing. Who needs breathing anyway?_

Without warning, the tailor’s arms snake around his waist. His face is dangerously close to Hyungwon’s even though his eyes are downcast. Now Hyungwon is sure he isn’t breathing at all because _what the fuck_?? He freezes as the man retracts his arms and pushes his glasses back onto his nose.

“You have a slender waist, Mr. Chae,” he muses, eyes fixed to the numbers on his measuring tape.

“Uh, t-thanks?” Hyungwon groans inwardly at his stutter. The man’s eyes meet his own and they’re crinkling into cute crescents as he smiles.

“Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” His voice comes out as a soft purr and he circles back behind Hyungwon.

He then feels soft palms on his shoulders, pressing him down.

“Broad shoulders, too.” He can practically hear the smirk in the man’s voice.

Hyungwon doesn’t know how he survived all that poking and prodding and constant remarks such as “Nice thighs” and “You’re too skinny for your height, Mr. Chae”, but he manages not to stumble when the measuring ends. The redhead then pulls out a sketchbook from beneath stacks of paper and ruffles through until he finds a blank page. He perches himself on the edge of the table and starts a rough sketch.

“Take a seat anywhere you like.” He gestures to the chair nearest to Hyungwon. He slowly lowers himself into the chair, running a hand through his hair.

He watches as the man’s nimble fingers dance across the paper, a design already blossoming from the tip of his pencil. The man furrows his brows in concentration and sticks his lower lip out. Hyungwon finds it strangely adorable.

“I never really caught your name,” he says. The redhead looks up and peers at Hyungwon from behind his glasses.

“Minhyuk. Lee Minhyuk,” he offers, his pretty features blooming with a smile.

“I don’t need to introduce myself, right?”

Minhyuk laughs. “No, Mr. Chae, you don’t need to.”

 

 

Minhyuk tells him to come by in a week.

“Or do you want it to be delivered-”

“No, it’s fine. I can stop by. No trouble at all.” Hyungwon replies hastily, accidentally cutting Minhyuk off. The tailor’s eyes twinkle.

“Of course. As you wish, Mr. Chae.”

 

 

 

All Hyungwon can think about as he exits the shop is how Minhyuk’s eyes light up when he laughs.

“…Shit.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kihyun steps into Hyungwon’s apartment with two Americanos in hand, only to be taken aback at the sight of the young author typing furiously at his laptop.

“Woah, what happened to you?” He sets down a cup next to Hyungwon who snatches it away and downs half of the coffee in one gulp. “What the fuck, slow down.”

“I just need to, you know, let off some steam.” Hyungwon’s beet red in the face. Kihyun tries to read over his shoulder but Hyungwon slams his laptop shut.

Kihyun is not impressed.

“You do know that I have to read all the shit you write sooner or later, right?”

Hyungwon groans into his hands. Kihyun makes himself comfortable on the sofa. He cocks an eyebrow at the taller man sitting at the kitchen counter.

“Well then, how did the appointment with the tailor go?”

Hyungwon chokes on his coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

He hasn’t felt a burst of inspiration like this since…heck, he doesn’t think he’s felt like this before.

Words flow easily from his fingertips when he pictures the tailor. Waltzing elegantly through the messy shop, red hair falling into his eyes when measuring, glasses cutely slipping off his nose…

For a person he’s only met once, Lee Minhyuk sure is one hell of a muse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“How did you even find him?” Hyungwon asks Kihyun one day as he’s preparing for an interview. Kihyun looks up from his phone, puzzled.

“Who?”

“Minhyuk. The tailor.”

“Oh, him. Remember the time Hoseok accidentally ripped the sleeve of his wedding suit?”

Hyungwon snorts. “I thought there wasn’t going to be a wedding.” It was probably a traumatizing event for Hoseok. Kihyun had gone ballistic over the large tear. (“It was expensive, okay,” Kihyun argues.)

“Yeah, well, Hyunwoo told us about that place. I think it was his father’s before him.” Kihyun says thoughtfully. “But hey, he’s good with what he does. I could barely notice the rip afterwards.”

“Yeah, or we would have one groom short of the wedding.”

Kihyun waves off the last comment. A staff pokes her head into the room.

“Mr. Chae, you’re on in five.”

Hyungwon sighs wearily and rises from his chair. He adjusts his tie and strides out the door for another dreaded interaction with the mass media.

 

 

“That wasn’t too bad,” Kihyun remarks when Hyungwon returns. “Nice slip when she asked you about your recent inspirations though.”

“Shit, was it obvious?” Hyungwon groans, dropping into a chair.

“You can see for yourself.” Kihyun points at the monitoring screen.

 

_“That was a wonderful introduction of your new book! I think what readers what to know, though, is what inspires you, Mr. Chae.”_

_“My inspiration?”_

_“Exactly so! Or how is it that you spin out tales so touching? Are they ideas from  past relationships?”_

_Hyungwon laughs. “Well, let’s say I’ve had my fair share of mistakes when it comes to relationships.”_

_“Then is it something that’s happening right now? An admirer, perhaps?”_

_“Nothing of the sort,” Hyungwon smiles politely._

_“Or is it the other way around this time, Mr. Chae?”_

_“E-excuse me?”_

 

Hyungwon tears his eyes away from the screen and the stupid woman asking him questions.

“That wasn’t rehearsed. How was I supposed to know she’d launch that on me? Oh my god, what a sneaky bitch.”

“Hey, watch your mouth,” Kihyun flicks his forehead. Hyungwon shields himself from potential attacks.

“I shouldn’t have written a fucking romance this time,” he grumbles. A smile pulls at Kihyun’s mouth.

“But seriously, though. What was that about?” He turns to face Hyungwon, who averts his gaze sheepishly. “So there _is_ a someone.”

“No!” Hyungwon protests. Kihyun raises an eyebrow. “Uh…not really?”

“What the fuck, so it’s true?”

Hyungwon shushes Kihyun.

“Not like that! There’s nothing, it was just…a business encounter?” He winces.

Kihyun scrunches up his face.

“Please don’t make that face, you’re exceptionally ugly when you do that.”

“Fuck you.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the drive back to Hyungwon’s apartment, Kihyun steps on the brakes so suddenly Hyungwon is unseated and bangs his head on the seat in front.

“What was that for?” He rubs his forehead angrily.

“Chae Hyungwon, is it the tailor.” Kihyun spins around in the driver’s seat.

The flush creeping onto his face is more than enough an answer for Kihyun. He cackles and resumes driving like nothing happened.

“You actually have the hots for your tailor, you kinky piece of shit.”

“You have no say in this, shorty. I’m sitting where you and Hoseok have been at it for God knows how many times.” Hyungwon fires back. Kihyun’s undeterred, and continues to shoot him amused glances.

“Wow, so did you undress in front of him last time or - ”

“OH MY GOD, SHUT UP.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kihyun insists on driving Hyungwon to his destination.

“Can you not? You’re like an embarrassing parent,” Hyungwon gripes.

“Don’t be so sulky, Twiggy.”

“It’s unnerving to see you so happy, you know.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not going to last long,” Kihyun replies cheerfully. (He does, however, agree to only pick Hyungwon up. “Don’t want to soil your new suit,” he winks.)

 

 

So Hyungwon finds himself a nervous wreck in front of the small shop. It’s a little chilly outside, so he’s wearing a black turtleneck and a long wool coat that swishes around his knees.

(No, he definitely didn’t dress up for Lee Minhyuk.)

He bounces on the balls of his feet before pushing the heavy door open. The smell of fresh laundry lingers in the air. A few mannequins are set upright, all dressed smartly in crisp shirts and slacks.

He doesn’t see Minhyuk anywhere, so he opts for sitting at the counter and pulls out his journal from his pocket.

It’s a habit, jotting things down on his small notebook. It started in high school, when Hyungwon was always seen with his nose buried in thick novels. He started writing on loose pieces of paper until someone told him that he should keep his ideas together instead of scattering them everywhere.

(That someone is the nagging motherly figure he calls his best friend now.)

Hyungwon writes absentmindedly, scribbling a few phrases about what he sees in the shop. _Sunlight filtering through the dust, projecting playful images onto the floor; threads glinting in the weak rays of a drowsy afternoon; a lean figure bent over a mahogany table, sleeves rolled up and lips pursed in concentration._

“Mr. Chae?”

Hyungwon starts and looks up from where he’s hunched over the counter. Minhyuk pokes his head from behind the door of his studio. His face breaks out into a bright smile and he motions for Hyungwon to get up.

“This way.” Minhyuk practically skips back into his studio.

Hyungwon stretches and follows. The small room is even more hectic then last time, with more fabric and textiles strewn over the large table. He walks over to where Minhyuk is straightening out his suit on a mannequin. The dark bags under the tailor’s eyes are prominent; Hyungwon’s heart squeezes when he wonders how much sleep this man has been able to catch this week. But then Minhyuk is turning around and looking at him with bright eyes and Hyungwon can’t focus on anything else.

“Well, here it is.”

Hyungwon’s sight falls on the suit. A faint whistle escapes his lips.

The jacket and slacks are a shade of midnight blue while hidden gold threads glint like shimmering stars; the edges are sharp and crisp, collar tapered into fine points. A slate gray button-up is donned inside the coat.

As an author, Chae Hyungwon is flabbergasted at the lack of vocabulary he has because Minhyuk is looking at him with expectant eyes but all he can say is-

“I-it’s beautiful.”

Nevertheless, Minhyuk beams at him. “I’m sure it’d look better on you, though.”

Hyungwon cracks a smile (even though he’s feeling uncomfortably warm in his sweater). “That makes two of us.” And Minhyuk laughs.

 

Minhyuk makes Hyungwon wait outside while he makes some final touches. Hyungwon messages Kihyun to pick him up and receives a winking emoji in return. He rolls his eyes and slips his phone back into his pocket.

Minhyuk walks out, glasses dangling from a golden chain around his neck, with the suit stashed in a plastic dry-cleaning bag, neatly folded in half. He slides it over the counter to Hyungwon and starts talking about how Kihyun had already charged everything to Hyungwon’s card.

Hyungwon isn’t really listening.

His eyes follow every angle of the redhead’s lips, drinking in the architecture of his pretty face, studying the pale expanse of his neck and then venturing down to his collarbones -

“…Chae? Mr. Chae?” Hyungwon snaps back to Minhyuk’s husky voice.

“Y-yeah?” He’s sure that he’s completely red by now. _What the fuck, Chae Hyungwon, stop staring._

Minhyuk leans forward and says softly, “I said, if you find any problems, feel free to come back anytime.”

“I’m sure there won’t be any,” Hyungwon replies. He feels a tug in his chest. If Kihyun was right about Lee Minhyuk, he assumes there won’t be a need for him to come back.

He feels a bit sad.

“It was a pleasure working with you,” Minhyuk smiles and offers a graceful hand. Hyungwon takes it with a small smile.

“Likewise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days later, Hyungwon still can’t bring himself to try on the suit Minhyuk crafted. It feels like it carries a spell, one Hyungwon can’t bring himself to break. He eyes it apprehensively while lying on his bed, heaving a sigh.

He’s so sure that it will be flawless.

Somehow, the thought irritates him even more.

_Feel free to come back anytime._

Hyungwon flops around on his bed and buries his face into a pillow. He closes his eyes but the tailor’s smile is imprinted on the inside of his eyelids.

“How many suits does one have to own to be considered over the top?” He questions himself aloud.

 

 

 

Kihyun finds him fast asleep a few hours later, long limbs wrapped around his pillow, head lopsided and drooling. He snaps a picture before roughly shaking the author awake.

“Wha-” Hyungwon shakes his head groggily. He sits up and watches as Kihyun examines the suit.

“Chae Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon yawns and wipes the spit off his face. “What did I do this time?”

“You do know that there aren’t any buttons on your suit, right?”

Hyungwon wakes up at this. “Say what?” Kihyun gives him a look that says _you’ve got to be fucking kidding me_. He points at the lapel exasperatedly.

Kihyun isn’t lying. There isn’t a single button on the jacket.

“…The fuck? I swear I saw buttons on it when he showed me -” Hyungwon trails off in thought.

_If you find any problems, feel free to come back._

Kihyun raises an eyebrow. “Chae, you’re going to have to fix this yourself. And fast.”

“Sure,” Hyungwon breathes out. “Drive me?”

“…You lazy piece of shit.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hyungwon tells Kihyun not to call this time and settles for a sudden visit. He almost trips in his haste to push the door open, and finds Lee Minhyuk smirking at him from behind the counter. He’s wearing his glasses today, with long silver earrings dangling from his earlobes and a maroon shirt that’s dangerously low-cut. His hair is a tousled mess falling into his eyes.

“Back so soon, Mr. Chae?”

Hyungwon almost forgets how to speak.

“It seems there _are_ problems I overlooked,” he begins, but shuts up when Minhyuk slinks out from behind the counter and removes the suit from his hands. His eyes are twinkling with mirth as he looks at Hyungwon.

“What might that be?” Minhyuk’s hands smooth the suit out.

_Two can play at that game_ , Hyungwon thinks.

“I don’t own a lot of suits, but I’m sure all of them have buttons,” he muses. He watches as the redhead bites his bottom lip to keep from smiling, though he fails in the end.

“Of course. I apologize for my mistake, Mr. Chae.” A grin is evident on Minhyuk’s face now.

“Don’t be. It gave me an excuse to see you again,” Hyungwon blurts out. He winces when Minhyuk turns amused eyes on him.

“Shit, I said that aloud, right?” He feels blood rushing to his face. “I’m sorry - uh, could you just forget I said that -”

Soothing hands grasp firmly onto his flailing arms. Hyungwon cracks his eyes open and he sees Minhyuk with a bashful smile gracing his features.

“I’d be a little upset if you didn’t.”

Hyungwon’s heart stops.

 

 

They talk a little more this time, Hyungwon hanging around the studio watching Minhyuk sew the buttons onto their rightful place with skillful hands.

He learns that Minhyuk is a few months older than him, likes floral scents, and hates reading.

Hyungwon chortles at the last statement which earns him a playful shove from the tailor.

“I could never really keep still long enough to actually read, you know,” Minhyuk says, his eyes fixed on the thread he was trying to knot. “It was hard to keep my hands still.”

“Well, you won’t hear me complaining,” Hyungwon says, resting his chin in his hand, eyes following Minhyuk’s every move. “I’m looking at what these hands created.”

“Woah, slow down,” Minhyuk says, though the corners of his lips are tugging upwards. “Tell me about yourself then.”

Hyungwon blinks. “I’m not an interesting person, believe me.”

“Entertain me.” Minhyuk waves his needle in the air.

“Uh. I live for coffee and spontaneous naps. And I write sometimes but see as you don’t like to read…” Hyungwon trails off and Minhyuk slaps him lightly on the arm.

“That might change, Mr. Chae. You never know,” Minhyuk sniffs.

“Of course.” Hyungwon answers with an unconvincing smile.

Minhyuk wipes away a nonexistent tear.

“Your confidence in me is overwhelming, I’m tearing up.”

“Hey, watch it. What if you ruined the suit with your tears?”

Minhyuk snorts. “Okay, Mr. Chae, that’s enough from you. Oh my god, I didn’t peg you as the annoying type.”

“You told me to entertain you!” Hyungwon says with feigned indignation.

“I’m entertained, all right. Just let me wrap this up.” Minhyuk pushes him playfully. “Go wait outside, Mr. Chae.”

“Hyungwon.” Hyungwon rubs at the back of his neck shyly. “Call me Hyungwon.”

Minhyuk looks at him with wide eyes behind his cute glasses. Hyungwon’s about to panic and tell him to forget about it but then Minhyuk’s eyes are crinkling into those adorable crescents and Hyungwon is blown away again.

“Fine, Hyungwon. But you still have to wait outside.”

 

 

 

Hyungwon feels like he’s floating on cloud nine when Kihyun comes to pick him up. He’s clutching the suit to his chest, regardless of the wrinkles he’s probably causing at the moment. Kihyun looks at him through the rearview mirror.

“Earth to Chae Hyungwon.”

“Yeah?” He snaps out of his reverie for a moment to spare Kihyun a glance.

“In love much?”

“…Shut up.”

 

 

 

 

Hyungwon is absolutely delighted when he finds that the sleeves on the suit are of different lengths. He decides not to tell Kihyun this time and practically skips all the way to the tailor’s shop.

**Author's Note:**

> if u can't tell i actually don't know shit about tailoring and stuff  
> everything is based on shows like project runway so  
> *escapes*  
> and lee minhyuk with red hair and glasses was a thing. it was THE thing


End file.
